Chelsea vs Newcastle LIVE: Premier League result and final score after stunning Kai Havertz goal

Chelsea’s sale is expected to progress with government oversight as bidders have been told to press on with submissions.

Owner Roman Abramovich’s government sanctions had stalled proceedings, with the Russian-Israeli billionaire’s UK assets frozen.

Chelsea have been handed a new licence to continue operations however, and the Blues are still locked in negotiations with the government to ease restrictions.

But New York merchant the Raine Group has assessed the terms of the licence and agreed a route forward for the sale with the government.

Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on 2 March, pledging to write off the Blues’ £1.5billion debt and to divert all proceeds to a new foundation to benefit victims of the war in Ukraine.

The 55-year-old moved to sell Chelsea after 19 years at the Stamford Bridge helm, amid Russia’s continued war in Ukraine.

The government sanctioned Abramovich after claiming to have proved his direct links to Vladimir Putin’s Russian regime, although Chelsea’s owner has always denied any association.

The Raine Group’s progression of the sale means Chelsea’s suitors can again push forward with their bids to take control of the European and world champions of the club game.

Time for all the need-to-know details before the match - we’ve got you covered.

Team news, where to watch the game, match odds and plenty more can be found right here.

It’s a big game for both as they seek to put the focus of the world back on football matters, for a little while at least.

Let’s take a look at some on-pitch matters before the team news.

Recently it has been better for Chelsea in terms of results, with four straight league wins keeping them on the fringes of a title fight - they’ll still be 10 off City with victory today though, so consistency remains all-important.

After today’s game, they have a Champions League tie to close out too, holding a 2-0 first-leg lead over Lille.

As for Newcastle, fears of the drop have been massively reduced following an eight-match unbeaten streak, with six wins in the last seven. Three points would actually send them into 11th, which is a pretty incredible turnaround.

“As the news of Roman Abramovich’s sanctions properly sank in, many within the Chelsea squad were considering their futures. Some had purely financial and career concerns, but a few wondered how it reflected on them to even be tangentially connected to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Such questions have made elite football a grim enough exercise, but the last two weeks do show how the sport still has the capacity for searing moral lessons. More trivially, it also has the capacity for narratively perfect twists.

Just as the Chelsea situation has provoked a profound examination of football club ownership and the game’s relationship with geopolitics, the club’s very next opponents are Saudi Arabia’s Newcastle United.”

Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney explains how this fixture offers up the chance, and the need, to re-examine just how football clubs are owned, run and bought.

Roman Abramovich has been disqualified as a director of Chelsea, the Premier League have confirmed.

The UK government brought sanctions against the owner on Thursday over his alleged links to Russian president Vladimir Putin amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Despite Abramovich’s assets being frozen, Chelsea were handed a new licence to continue “football-related activities” and are in negotiations with the government to amend some aspects of it.

A statement from the league on Saturday read: “Following the imposition of sanctions by the UK government, the Premier League Board has disqualified Roman Abramovich as a director of Chelsea Football Club.

“The board’s decision does not impact on the club’s ability to train and play its fixtures, as set out under the terms of a licence issued by the government which expires on 31 May 2022.”